This invention relates to a training aid for the game of football, and, more particularly, to a device which assists in teaching a player in the position of center, to correctly pass a football to another player in the position of place-kick holder or quarterback.
The effective passing of a football, by a player assigned to the position of center, to a player assigned to the position of place-kick holder or quarterback, is not always readily learned, particularly in the case of a young or novice football player. A football play from scrimmage is initiated by a snap of the football by the center, either as a direct handoff to the quarterback who is located immediately behind the center, or as a pass to a place-kick holder or the quarterback who is located several feet behind the center. At the instant that the center begins to pass the football to the place-kick holder or quarterback, the football play is initiated and the players of the opposing team may, and normally do, vigorously rush forward, contacting the center and other players in the center's team, with the intention of disrupting and interfering with the accurate passing of the football by the center to the place-kick holder or quarterback, and with the planned action of the place-kick holder or quarterback after receiving the football. In the case of the location of the place-kick holder or quarterback several feet behind the center, at the initiation of the football play, the center's pass must be forcefully and accurately directed to the place-kick holder or quarterback, to maximize the ability of the place-kick holder or quarterback to catch and control the football and immediately take the planned action, and to minimize the ability of the opposing players to disrupt or interfere with the place-kick holder's or quarterback's control of the football and successful execution of the planned action. The extremely rapid and diverse sequence of actions by the center's team and the opposing team, and the vigorous actions of the opposing team, make effective training and practice essential to the preparation of the center for the crucial activity of accurate passing of the football to the place-kick holder or quarterback. The most effective training and practice requires that the football be passed to a player serving the role of place-kick holder or quarterback, in order that the trajectory, accuracy and force of the pass can be directly and realistically assessed. Preferably, the trajectory is nearly straight rather than substantially arched, the football is aimed accurately at the hands of the place-kick holder or quarterback and the force is in the range most appropriate for the football to be readily caught by the place-kick holder or quarterback. Accordingly, it is desirable to present a training aid which urges an accurate passing action by the center, and facilitates observation by a coach or trainer of the trajectory, accuracy and force of each pass, to enable self-correction and effective guidance by coaches and trainers.
Known prior art devices have not successfully addressed the above problems. Various patents disclose devices and complex apparatus designed to provide targets for actions in football and other sports, in which accuracy is assessed by the projectile striking a target, which may include a bag or similar structure to capture the projectile. Such devices and apparatus do not provide the opportunity for the accuracy and effectiveness of the pass to be realistically assessed, by the ability of a second player serving the role of place-kick holder or quarterback to catch the football. Realistic assessment of the accuracy and effectiveness of a center pass requires that a second player have the opportunity to attempt to catch the pass, which cannot be provided if the football strikes a target or is captured by the device. Such devices also do not encourage the preferred location and alignment of the center in relation to the second player, do not provide realistic framing of a target area corresponding to the preferred trajectory of a center pass in the game of football, and do not provide immediate feedback regarding substantial inaccuracy of the pass by having a surface which the football strikes in the event of such inaccuracy. (U.S. Pat. No. 4,068,846; U.S. Pat. No. 4,239,235; U.S. Pat. No. 4,826,166; U.S. Pat. No. 4,836,542; U.S. Pat. No. 4,932,657). U.S. Patent Application No. US2005/0192126 A1 discloses a training device which presents a net at a height and configuration resembling a basketball net, which does not require a center's pass to follow the trajectory required in a normal center pass to the quarterback; further, the disclosed device does not permit a second player serving the role of place-kick holder or quarterback to receive the pass and thus assess its effectiveness.